# Alcohol...



## Larry Gude

...I've been a regular beer drinking my entire adult life. It would be unusual for me to go a week without at least a few beers. I certainly drank more than average but, I can't say it was a problem with my life. I've always gotten up and trudged off to work on the bad days with the occasional bad weekend or Holiday where I was miserable all next day. It didn't miss important meetings or dead lines or whatever because of it. I've just always liked drinking beer. In any event, for well over 30 years, I've been a beer drinker. 

I've been tapering off the last 6-7 months or so and, since just before Christmas, I've had 6 beers, total over the last, basically, month. And a couple of them were one beer with lunch. It has really been interesting to me how effortless it has been. There's not been a moment of 'I gotta have a beer!'. I have felt better and lost weight without trying and both those seem perfectly obvious but, it has been, truly, effortless and not any sort of obvious detoxification. My life and behavior patterns haven't changed a bit. I don't avoid bars, I don't avoid my beer buddies, was out New Years and had two of those 6, hung out with some friend who are Huge drinkers and that was another 2 of them. I've just stopped drinking and I am pretty sure New Years was the last alcohol I've had. 

Until last night.  

We went out and jammed an open mic and we sat and sat and sat for two freaking hours before our turn came up and I started getting nervous and thinking about a couple of hard parts a little too much, parts I sometimes struggle with. Now, I sat their and noodled the entire time because I have some arthritis and my fret hands hurts and I HAVE to warm up and keep it warm, so, I was loose enough but, just psyching myself out. SO, I figured I'd have a beer and see if that chilled me out a bit. Back when I was drinking a month or two ago I would not have done this, preferring to be stone cold sober before playing but because I am so aware of not being a drinker anymore, it sounded like a good idea. 

The point isn't that it hurt or helped. I only had maybe a 1/3 of a pint glass before we went on, just sipping at it. So, we played, I ####ed up a bunch but, we got the best applause we've had so far which is more a function, I think, of the bar crowd being sick of one man acoustic acts for two straight hours, who played fine but, that #### gets OLD, than any credit to me. Bass player totally blew a part or two and the drummer was not sharp but, hey they liked us and the drummer actually came back in after leaving to tell me how much props we got from the standing out in the frozen smoking section folks. 

In any event, short story long, I stayed and was rewarded with the guys who came on after us who did a FABULOUS Voodoo chile and I had a second beer. 

I felt fine on the way home but, did feel it. Got home around midnight, ate, watched TV for a few minutes and off to bed. Lots of weird dreams last night, slept merely OK and, now we come to the point...

Two pints of Flying Dog Snake Eyes IPA and I feel like crud this AM, a mini hangover. Two freaking beers! I enjoyed them, a lot. Great beer but, damn. Bleh this am. 

So, in any event, I am sure I will drink again at get togethers or hanging with pals but, I'm pretty much not a drinker anymore and my body is amazingly clean and pure...at least when it comes to alcohol.


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## dan0623_2000

As we get older our tolerance for alcohol goes down.  Many moons ago I tried to drink St. Mary's county dry.  I gave it my best shot, but after about 2 years I was a complete failure.  I still drink but no where near what I use to.  More than 4 drinks in one night and I am not feeling well for the next couple of days.
Welcome to midlife Larry


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## Larry Gude

dan0623_2000 said:


> As we get older our tolerance for alcohol goes down.  Many moons ago I tried to drink St. Mary's county dry.  I gave it my best shot, but after about 2 years I was a complete failure.  I still drink but no where near what I use to.  More than 4 drinks in one night and I am not feeling well for the next couple of days.
> Welcome to midlife Larry



Yeah, but, as recent as a early December I could drink 12 Sierra Nevada pale ales or damn near a case of Corona's and be in decent shape the next day. In my case, my tolerance was there but, collapsed in a month or so. In any event, this is how I quit smoking, just stopped, so, this is normal for me.  Still fascinating, though, on a personal level.


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## PeoplesElbow

Bah,  beer isn't alcohol


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## Misfit

PeoplesElbow said:


> Bah,  beer isn't alcohol



That’s what I told the Judge.


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## dan0623_2000

Larry Gude said:


> Yeah, but, as recent as a early December I could drink 12 Sierra Nevada pale ales or damn near a case of Corona's and be in decent shape the next day. In my case, my tolerance was there but, collapsed in a month or so. In any event, this is how I quit smoking, just stopped, so, this is normal for me.  Still fascinating, though, on a personal level.
> 
> Very interesting time frame of when you could tolerate the booze and when you could not..  A person I know who is in his late 20's could really put away the booze and still be functional the next day.  Last years he and some buddiers did dome binge drinking (he has done this many times before) and a little after midnight he started feeling bad and started throwing up.  He said he knew something was not right and had a friend take him to the hospital.  That afternoon the doctors told his mother and father they should think about getting the family together becaue they were only giving thier son about a 30% chance of living during the next 12 to 18 hours.  Somehow his body chemistry had changed and he was suffering from alcohol poisioning.  He did pull through it but it was weeks before he was back to normal.  Now as soon as he has a drink he gets sick to his stomach.  I am not a doctor and don't pretend to know the physics of what happened to him but I was told this is not an rare occurance.


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## vraiblonde

Misfit said:


> That’s what I told the Judge.





I can't hang like I used to, that's for sure.


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## Hank

I can't drink during the day without needing a nap. I used to be able to rage all day and through the night. Now it's nappy time and a party day has to be split in two.


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## Gilligan

dan0623_2000 said:


> Very interesting time frame of when you could tolerate the booze and when you could not..  A person I know who is in his late 20's could really put away the booze and still be functional the next day.  Last years he and some buddiers did dome binge drinking (he has done this many times before) and a little after midnight he started feeling bad and started throwing up.  He said he knew something was not right and had a friend take him to the hospital.  That afternoon the doctors told his mother and father they should think about getting the family together becaue they were only giving thier son about a 30% chance of living during the next 12 to 18 hours.  Somehow his body chemistry had changed and he was suffering from alcohol poisioning.  He did pull through it but it was weeks before he was back to normal.  Now as soon as he has a drink he gets sick to his stomach.  I am not a doctor and don't pretend to know the physics of what happened to him but I was told this is not an rare occurance.




Can't be that rare..something similar happened to me, although not nearly that severe in terms of being life threatening.  About 25-30 years I ago, I became, for lack of a better word, "allergic" to many forms of alcohol. Schnaps, for example, and any similar thing that was/is popular for shots.  It didn't happen overnight but it was only over a period of 2-3 years that it kicked in and I finally got it figured out.  I can only tolerate a very few kinds of alcoholic beverage now, beer being the best of those, thank goodness. ;-)


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## ArkRescue

dan0623_2000 said:


> As we get older our tolerance for alcohol goes down.  Many moons ago I tried to drink St. Mary's county dry.  I gave it my best shot, but after about 2 years I was a complete failure.  I still drink but no where near what I use to.  More than 4 drinks in one night and I am not feeling well for the next couple of days.
> Welcome to midlife Larry



Please be careful, there was a recent story about people who are dying from alcohol poisoning:

"Americans who drink too much don't have to get behind the wheel to risk their lives. In fact, a new report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows alcohol poisoning kills an average of six people a day.

The most unexpected finding: Deaths from alcohol poisoning are highest among middle-age men. "

6 Americans Die Daily from Alcohol Poisoning


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## DQ2B

For the life of me, I can't figure out the point of drinking alcohol (or smoking). It causes me to think unclearly, makes me have to pee constantly and I feel like crap the next day. What's the point? Where is the positive side?:shrug:


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## ArkRescue

Hank said:


> I can't drink during the day without needing a nap. I used to be able to rage all day and through the night. Now it's nappy time and a party day has to be split in two.



I have read that drinking disrupts your sleep, but it never really bothered me until the past few years.  I'm with you on drinking during the day and a nap  .


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## ArkRescue

DQ2B said:


> For the life of me, I can't figure out the point of drinking alcohol (or smoking). It causes me to think unclearly, makes me have to pee constantly and I feel like crap the next day. What's the point? Where is the positive side?:shrug:




OMG if I drink anything with caffeine, I get the same pee effect, although not to the same extreme as drinking alcohol.


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## Larry Gude

Misfit said:


> That’s what I told the Judge.


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## Larry Gude

dan0623_2000 said:


> [
> Very interesting time frame of when you could tolerate the booze and when you could not..  A person I know who is in his late 20's could really put away the booze and still be functional the next day.  Last years he and some buddiers did dome binge drinking (he has done this many times before) and a little after midnight he started feeling bad and started throwing up.  He said he knew something was not right and had a friend take him to the hospital.  That afternoon the doctors told his mother and father they should think about getting the family together becaue they were only giving thier son about a 30% chance of living during the next 12 to 18 hours.  Somehow his body chemistry had changed and he was suffering from alcohol poisioning.  He did pull through it but it was weeks before he was back to normal.  Now as soon as he has a drink he gets sick to his stomach.  I am not a doctor and don't pretend to know the physics of what happened to him but I was told this is not an rare occurance.



That's awful!

In any event, that's not the case with me. I had a fine, busy day, just felt like crud for a bit this am. I am perfectly certain the effect is simply that my system over the last month has, for lack of better word, reset to alcohol tolerance. I feel quite sure that if I were to go back into...training...and work at it as diligently and consistently as before, by bench, squat and dead lift would be fairly respectable in no time.


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## Larry Gude

Hank said:


> I can't drink during the day without needing a nap. I used to be able to rage all day and through the night. Now it's nappy time and a party day has to be split in two.



I could never do that. The only time I ever got drunk twice in one day was on a deep water fishing trip many many moons ago. There is nothing sort of watching paint dry that compares to the shear boredom of sport fishing...


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## Hank

Larry Gude said:


> I could never do that. The only time I ever got drunk twice in one day was on a deep water fishing trip many many moons ago. There is nothing sort of watching paint dry that compares to the shear boredom of sport fishing...



I drank on a deep water trip ONCE....... and I repeat ONCE! What a miserable day that was!


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## Larry Gude

Hank said:


> I drank on a deep water trip ONCE....... and I repeat ONCE! What a miserable day that was!



We had Dramamine so, I didn't get seas sick. But, godamn, I am trying to think of something I'd rather go deep sea fishing over...even a trip to the dentist is only an hour or so...


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## PeoplesElbow

DQ2B said:


> For the life of me, I can't figure out the point of drinking alcohol (or smoking). It causes me to think unclearly, makes me have to pee constantly and I feel like crap the next day. What's the point? Where is the positive side?:shrug:



I had a urologist tell me that drinking a couple beers is really good to clean you out, this was after he took a kidney stone out of me.


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## acommondisaster

I used to be able to drink quite a bit, but somewhere along the way, I'd go out for a good night of partying and find myself unconsciously switching to cokes. After awhile anything more than one beer would make me sleepy. Now, anything more than a glass of wine with dinner makes me sluggish the next day.  I don't enjoy getting tipsy anymore, so I don't mind at all. A bottle of Rumchata will last months and months in my fridge, if I finish it at all. A glass of wine with dinner when I'm out is really just to be sociable and not be the only grownup having a soda with dinner.

I guess our metabolisms change when we get older and our tolerance goes down a lot quicker.


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## Monello

Larry Gude said:


> There is nothing sort of watching paint dry that compares to the shear boredom of sport fishing...


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## Larry Gude

Monello said:


>



   I was thinking you'd like that one!!! 

Variety of life. As I wrote it I did so pondering the fact that some folks, many folks, absolutely love it. I mean, I get fishing, taking a little john boat out at 5 am, the quiet, the solitude, being IN nature, the relaxing part, being away from most everything, the excitement and satisfaction of getting the right bait, catching a good fish. But, man 'sport' fishing??? 

We pulled out of Ocean City at 5:30, 6am, so, we'd already been in the car for 3 hours. It's exciting, this big, bad ass boat, gearing up, heading out, nice and slow, out the bay, out the jetty, then, cap'n firewalls it and for TWO ####ing hours THRRRUUUUMMMMMMM...that got old real quick. Nothing, just THRUMMMMMMM, the wind, the smell, the open water as OC disappears into the distance, then JUST the water. Then, suddenly, he cuts it to idle, the boat settles, your sense awake and....all of a sudden, there are boats everywhere!!  It was like being in the Millennium Falcon coming out of hyper space or something!  

So, you take turns in the chair, all these lines go out, the mate does everything, the eating of sammitchs and beers at 8am kicks in and...that's it...for endless hours. The first rush of excitement as a sail from a fish pops the surface, the cat and mouse as the, seemingly, bored fish simply strikes at the bait to kill it for entertainment, not to eat it. That got old, quick. A fish is on, yeah! For awhile...slow day. Been up in the flying bridge with the captain, in the galley, nap, all around the boat. Boring as hell, stuck, trapped. We move and, suddenly, there are tuna everywhere so, we call get the 'thrill' of 'catching' a fish, 30-40 pound tuna, whatever. That got old QUICK, too. the long, numbing return to the dock, the fish cleaning, the mate does even that. Back in the freaking car for three more hours. 

I know damn well someone loved that, loves that. A bunch of business buddies do. They won the White Marlin open 2 years ago. They do this all over the world. I was invited to start coming along like 15 years ago, different part of the world, every year and the ONLY reason I even considered it was to go dive in a new spot every year. The mere thought of another minute on a sport fishing boat, yikes!

In any event, I do get it, different strokes, different folks and certainly things I do that are just IT for me, all the details, that others would rather be ANYWHERE else. 

Even if it means 12 hours on a sport fishing boat.


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## Larry Gude

acommondisaster said:


> I
> 
> I guess our metabolisms change when we get older and our tolerance goes down a lot quicker.



Again, this wasn't the case, I could rink more and suffer less than ever up to about a month ago. Part of why I stopped was I was just getting bored of it plus the expense. I just stopped. :shrug:

This is more a thread about how amazing our bodies are, how adaptable, how readily we heal. How they just work so well, effortlessly on our part.

I was watching the special on the Roosevelt's last night, his polio, man, it really struck me how awful that has to be, to have a body, parts of your body, that has issues you CAN'T do much about. Very humbling.


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## SG_Player1974

Hi, I'm Larry



Larry Gude said:


> ...I've been a regular beer drinking my entire adult life. It would be unusual for me to go a week without at least a few beers. I certainly drank more than average but, I can't say it was a problem with my life. I've always gotten up and trudged off to work on the bad days with the occasional bad weekend or Holiday where I was miserable all next day. It didn't miss important meetings or dead lines or whatever because of it. I've just always liked drinking beer. In any event, for well over 30 years, I've been a beer drinker.



I do believe that this is the proper rehearsed opening statement to a functioning alcoholic's anonymous introduction


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## ArkRescue

acommondisaster said:


> I used to be able to drink quite a bit, but somewhere along the way, I'd go out for a good night of partying and find myself unconsciously switching to cokes. After awhile anything more than one beer would make me sleepy. Now, anything more than a glass of wine with dinner makes me sluggish the next day.  I don't enjoy getting tipsy anymore, so I don't mind at all. A bottle of Rumchata will last months and months in my fridge, if I finish it at all. A glass of wine with dinner when I'm out is really just to be sociable and not be the only grownup having a soda with dinner.
> 
> I guess our metabolisms change when we get older and our tolerance goes down a lot quicker.



Yup I am finding the recuperation time my body needs generally isn't worth drinking alcohol.  I do it less and less as time goes on.  I can think of a few times when I was a 20-something that I probably really put a hurting on my liver, and I was lucky to wake up from that.


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## Misfit

PeoplesElbow said:


> I had a urologist tell me that drinking a couple beers is really good to clean you out, this was after he took a kidney stone out of me.





I drank a twelve pack of Newcastle Brown Ale over the weekend and it cleaned out my colon.


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## ArkRescue

Misfit said:


> I drank a twelve pack of Newcastle Brown Ale over the weekend and it *cleaned out my colon*.



TMI ....


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## Toxick

Larry Gude said:


> I've been tapering off the last 6-7 months or so and, since just before Christmas, I've had 6 beers, total over the last, basically, month. And a couple of them were one beer with lunch. It has really been interesting to me how effortless it has been. There's not been a moment of 'I gotta have a beer!'. I have felt better and lost weight without trying and both those seem perfectly obvious but, it has been, truly, effortless and not any sort of obvious detoxification. My life and behavior patterns haven't changed a bit. I don't avoid bars, I don't avoid my beer buddies, was out New Years and had two of those 6, hung out with some friend who are Huge drinkers and that was another 2 of them. I've just stopped drinking and I am pretty sure New Years was the last alcohol I've had.






Yeah.... pot really takes the edge off.


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## MMDad

Misfit said:


> I drank a twelve pack of Newcastle Brown Ale over the weekend and it cleaned out my colon.



I always laugh when I see these treatments for cleaning out build up in your colon. They sucker stupid people into spending a lot of money to clean out something that does not exist. If they really want to get empty, a 12 pack of Milwaukee's Best is far more effective than any herbal supplements. You can even add some pickled eggs if you want a little extra power in your cleansing.


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## Misfit

MMDad said:


> I always laugh when I see these treatments for cleaning out build up in your colon. They sucker stupid people into spending a lot of money to clean out something that does not exist. If they really want to get empty, a 12 pack of Milwaukee's Best is far more effective than any herbal supplements. You can even add some pickled eggs if you want a little extra power in your cleansing.



I found the gum I swallowed when I was six.


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## MMDad

Misfit said:


> I found the gum I swallowed when I was six.



Gum only takes 7 years to pass through. That gum had to be from when you were 47.


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## Misfit

MMDad said:


> Gum only takes 7 years to pass through. That gum had to be from when you were 47.



  It just feels right to eat it.


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## Larry Gude

Toxick said:


> Yeah.... pot really takes the edge off.



No interest. Last time I got high was Thanksgiving night, 1996. And in about 20 minutes I remembered exactly why it had been 15 years of nothing at that point. Bleh.


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## itsbob

Misfit said:


> I drank a twelve pack of Newcastle Brown Ale over the weekend and it cleaned out my colon.



Do short people have semi-colons?


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## Hank

Larry Gude said:


> No interest. Last time I got high was Thanksgiving night, 1996. And in about 20 minutes I remembered exactly why it had been 15 years of nothing at that point. Bleh.



You need some better chit!


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## Larry Gude

Hank said:


> You need some better chit!



Well, that was along time ago and the way I hear it is that the #### now, for an old timer, is WAY too strong, that you can barely move because the potency is something like 20 times when I was a kid.


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## Larry Gude

itsbob said:


> Do short people have semi-colons?


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## Larry Gude

This is just amazing. Had two IPA's last night after jamming. I feel a little hungover.


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## cricketmd

Perfect timing for this thread! Thanks OP!   I'm trying to cut back as well! I'll be looking forward to reading your future endeavors at this.  I too got to a point I got bored with it, it costs too much money and does nothing anymore (I too am a beer drinker). I look forward to a healthier liver, the weight loss part and saving money, I'm currently in weaning down phase! Thanks for sharing Larry!


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## Larry Gude

This sucks. I'm gonna have to either just give it up all together or start drinking more. I had TWO beers last night, one only a partial to taste something that was in a growler and HALF a glass of wine and I've had a headache all day....   

I was surrounded by a bunch of really fun people, SB party last night, who work at and with local breweries and know a TON about beers. It was like being in a beer candy shop they brought some many different beers. And I was good.


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## Misfit

I'm on the wagon after yesterday. I really need to reevaluate my life.


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## vraiblonde

Misfit said:


> I'm on the wagon after yesterday. I really need to reevaluate my life.



How long is that going to take?

I don't drink often or much anymore, but the other night I went over to a friend's and sucked down a LOT of beer.  Like, a lot.  I'm not dead, so that's good, and I wasn't hung over the next day, so that's even better.

AND the Blue Moon Peach and Cinnamon beers are DELICIOUS.  This sampler pack is a winner.


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## Misfit

vraiblonde said:


> How long is that going to take?



Not long, I'm pretty shallow. 


I'm staying away from the liquor store. I hope my little Hindu friend doesn't miss me too much.


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